Tuesday, January 09, 2007

A Biology Lesson (Yup.)

The following is an e-mail I received from son # 3. (Used on this blog with his permission.)From : "son # 3"Sent : January 8, 2007 5:17:58 PMTo : "Mom" Subject : What I learn in schoolHey, here’s a video of the stuff I get to learn in biology – even if you don’t understand it, this surprisingly accurate animation looks pretty damn cool... and to think, every cell in your body is doing all the things that this video shows all the time… crazy.EnjoyHe’s right. I don’t have a clue as to what is actually going on in this video but it is absolutely fascinating — and beautiful. My son is studying science in university. This particular aptitude he inherited from his father. Every other wonderful thing about this boy (and there are plenty) he inherited from me. (I wish.)Please click on this link — “Cellular Visions: The Inner Life of a Cell.” On my computer, once you then click on the actual video, it takes a few seconds to load. (And I didn’t have to download Flash 8 Player. I didn’t check but obviously my computer already has it or its equivalent. Hope yours does too. Just go for it.) I’ll bet you watch the entire thing — it takes about a minute. Even the music is beautiful. For those of you who don’t possess a scientific bone in your body (like me) think of this as an opportunity to receive your science lesson for the day, week or year. And do read (or skim) the accompanying article. It explains a lot – far better than I could. Although this is an animation, according to my son, the “crawling,” “surfing,” “walking” and other actions you observe are accurate renditions — as are the fiber strands breaking apart and coming together.Isn’t it wonderful when your kids start educating you? Well, I guess they’ve been educating us all along when it comes to parenting — that “course” which requires no prerequisite or training.

beth - kids have absolutely no fear when it comes to computers. I'm always afraid I'm going to delete something important or wreck the damn thing. Mine have all been excellent computer instructors. Thank God.